My kettle is a blue Le Creuset stove-top model made of enamelled steel. Not giving it up, not no-how for nobody.

Under assault by the new antibiotic, the Cough From Hell is retreating, and I have done pool class two days in a row. I'm less shaky, too, since laying off the Symbicort inhaler that the allergist prescribed for flare-ups. If there's one thing you definitely don't want to be at 70, it's wobbly in the knees.

The house is neat but not clean, since I haven't had the energy for so much as a duster, let alone the vacuum cleaner, since well before Hallowe'en. Cat hair abounds, especially in the carpets. The spot at the edge of the sitting-room rug where Watson likes to recline is particularly notable. But today is not the day I tackle that problem. Maybe tomorrow? Maybe.

Incidentally, Keb, a coat that glows in the dark is a good idea if you go out after sundown. Even in daylight, a bright colour is an effective safety feature in winter.